A crochet cat keychain pattern with a sleepy face and a bendy tail

This crochet cat keychain pattern makes a little grey cat with a round head, pointy ears and a curled tail, small enough for a bag or a set of keys. The head and the body are one piece, and the face is embroidered with black yarn. Apart from the key ring and the optional bell, there are no hard parts stuck on the front of it.

The detail people notice first is the tail. A thin wire runs inside it, so you can bend it into whatever curl suits your cat, and it stays there. It takes very little effort, and it gives a tiny keychain a lot of personality.

Only four little parts

You work in a spiral without joining the rounds, with the marker in the first stitch of every round. The build is pleasantly short:

• Head and body: one piece of 14 rounds, with the head, a narrow neck and then the body.
• Tail: a thin tube of 6 stitches and 8 rounds, with wire inside.
• Ears, make 2: a chain of 3 and two stitches, which makes a tiny triangle.
• Face: eyes and whiskers stitched with black yarn.
• Collar: optional, from a strand of red yarn and a small bell.
• Key ring: sewn to the top of the head.

Because the head narrows into the neck and then widens again, the single piece still looks like two shapes. You get the neck in round 8, which is why that one round has two steps of its own.

What is inside this crochet cat keychain pattern

The PDF has 15 pages, with 34 numbered steps and 38 photos. The photos follow you through each round and stop at the moments that matter, such as a check on the head before you narrow it, the finished neck and the tail with its wire. Each round has a stitch count, and the numbers are a good way to spot a slip early.

The ears come with a useful habit: leave a tail of about 15 cm (6 in) at both ends for sewing. The steps for the eyes take them one at a time, then the whiskers, and then ask you to stop and check the face before you sew on the ears. A quick reference section and a troubleshooting page close the file.

Yarn, hook and the odd extras

Soft cotton yarn is what you want here, in 5 ply, which is light worsted or DK. Grey gives you the cat in the photos, though any colour works. If your label uses another name, the Craft Yarn Council yarn weight chart will help. You also need a small amount of black yarn for the eyes and whiskers.

• A 3.5 mm crochet hook, worked tightly so the stuffing does not show
• A little polyester fibrefill
• A short piece of thin craft wire, or a pipe cleaner, for the tail
• Scissors, a stitch marker, a yarn needle and a key ring
• For the optional collar: a strand of red yarn and a small bell

Why this crochet cat keychain pattern is good for small projects

Small makes are often harder than they look, because there is so little room for error. Here the stitches stay basic and the parts stay few. The body counts run 24, 24, 22, 20, 15 and 10 toward the bottom, so if a round feels off, you can compare it with that list straight away.

The whole cat also uses only a small amount of yarn, which makes it a good match for that half-used ball sitting in your basket. You can change the colour easily, too. A ginger or cream version needs no change to the counts, only a different yarn in your hand.

Common slips and how to fix them

If the head turns out pointed rather than flat on top, check round 3, which must end with 24 stitches, and stuff the flat top well. If the neck is too loose, work round 8 tightly and make sure there are exactly 12 decreases. If the tail droops, use a slightly thicker wire or fold it into three. When the eyes are not level, count the rounds from the top before you stitch.

Who this crochet cat keychain pattern suits

It is rated easy, and at 34 steps it is a fairly short project. You should know how to work in the round, and the stitch guide covers everything else in US terms. Fancy a larger cat as well? Our free crochet cat amigurumi tutorial is on the blog. This crochet cat keychain pattern is also part of the keychain pattern pack, with a bunny and a puppy.

What happens after you buy

This crochet cat keychain pattern reaches you as a digital PDF, so you make the cat yourself and nothing comes through the post. After you pay, sign in to Whop with the code in your email and open your file. It prints easily, and it reads well on a phone or tablet too.

On the blog: Crochet Cat Amigurumi: Easy Gift to Make in 3 Parts